Vasyl Popov, the commander of the Russian 247th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment, was killed during the fighting in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment on Friday.

Vasyl Popov succeeded Petr Popov as commander of the 247th Regiment in August or September, making Vasyl the second commander of the 247th Regiment to die in action.

According to ISV, units of the 247th regiment are located on the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

ISW has previously assessed that Russia’s elite airborne forces are carrying out counterattacks in critical areas of the front, and Vasyl Popov’s death confirms ISW’s assessment that these counterattacks are likely to weaken the strength of these units.

ISW analysts also report that Ukrainian forces have achieved partial success near Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Andriivka and Kurdyumivka.

On Friday morning, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Kyiv troops captured Andriyivka in the Donetsk region, Reuters reports.

Andriivka is south of Bakhmut, the site of one of the bloodiest battles since the Russian invasion last February.

The General Staff also reported a “partial success” near another village south of the city – Klishchiivka.

Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar stated that the situation in Andriivka is “very complex and changeable”.

It was initially announced that the village was under Ukrainian control, but this was later stated to be inaccurate as fighting continued around the village.